Not sure who I’d like to see in the Finals. Wambach could score three goals against the tiny Japanese team, but then again there might not be three crosses to her the way they control the ball.
7.
Felanius Kootea
I still can’t believe the US beat France! Gravlax and sashimi are tied right now but I think it might be gravlax; we’ll see.
But for now, on the Washington Post’s Web site, Erik Wemple writes that the paper may have had information on hand that undermined the prostitution charge—maybe a lot more.
…
Of course, just as liars can really be raped, even lying about rape does not make one a prostitute.
Ironically, you can’t get good hamburgers in Germany.
15.
Morbo
Schelin and Oqvist are my favorite strikers, admittedly not entirely due to skills which they have aplenty.
16.
aretino
I will admit that such considerations are not entirely irrelevant to my own enthusiasm for French striker Elodie Thomis.
17.
aretino
Lordy, what a howler from the Sweden goalkeeper Lindahl. And Japan take the lead.
18.
justawriter
Start warming and chilling the sake, methinks
19.
Morbo
Lordy, what a howler from the Sweden goalkeeper Lindahl. And Japan take the lead.
Copy and paste for goal #3.
20.
lostinube
Yowza. 3 – 1 Japan!
21.
edmund dantes
Swedish goalie is just horrible. All over the place.
22.
Tuttle
Natto nattoku!
I mean, if we’re doing national food puns…
23.
edmund dantes
Japan is a scary team to face if this continues considering the U.S.’s problem with midfield possession. I could see the U.S. being run ragged by the Japanese just possessing the ball all over the place.
This Japanese team is fun to watch. To a hockey devotee and soccer beginner, they remind me a lot of the Detroit Red Wings: they want the ball, and if there isn’t anyone forward to pass the ball to, they’re perfectly happy to pass it backwards.
Unless they blow the lead, the final is a no lose proposition for me. Either the US wins, or this team I like so much wins.
26.
burnspbesq
Getting to the semis, and beating the US in the group stage, is a beyond-expectations result for Sweden.
27.
J. Michael Neal
burnspbesq: Yeah, but not as much of a beyond expectations result as the Japanese making the final. I really thought that they had played the game of their lives against Germany and couldn’t do it again.
This is an indication of how much I actually know about soccer.
28.
J. Michael Neal
I thought the story of both games was really bad goalkeeping on the losing side.
29.
lostinube
Not that most of the world cares but we were denied a double US-Japan final today:
A late touchdown took Canada past Japan to win their group and the right to take on the US in the finals of the World Cup of American Football taking place in Austria.
It’s the first time Japan is not in the finals.
30.
dollared
If Japan is as good with ball control as France was, look out. US was lucky today.
I’m wondering about Coach Pia. The US team is big and clumsy – bad touches and errant passes abound. They looked today like Man U. against Barcelona, all long kicks and falling back into the box, while France had better one-on-one ball skills, better passing, and overall better team speed. The gap in touch and passing was obvious and alarming.
I’m assuming playing this style is coach Pia’s decision. But is it a choice, or is it that the US doesn’t have the players with the speed and touch to compete at this level and playing English/Italian ball is the only choice?
31.
burnspbesq
@dollared:
We have plenty of speed on the flanks and in central defense. The biggest weakness of this team is the central midfield .
More to the point, we have a Wombat and nobody else does. Why not build your attack around the threat for which nobody has an answer?
Jogo bonito is nice, but they don’t count style points.
32.
dollared
I get the Wombach part. But does her looming presence cause us to select halfbacks who can’t trap properly and can’t pass accurately? Or are they just not available?
33.
Paula
Yes, we rely too much on physicality and grit to win, rather than on technical ability.
(Wambach’s headers have been class, though. They may have been poor marking, but weren’t egregious goalkeeping errors.)
The USWNT have every advantage over almost all the teams in the WWC, so if they lose on Sunday they deserve to lose, after which might come the serious introspection on USSF’s part to improve technical training at all levels for both the men and women. (Might — not holding my breath.)
OTOH, that’s mostly a personal gripe. I have no desire to rain down on the thousands of people who want USWNT to hold the Cup again, or the new generation of young girls who may be inspired by another generation of US World Cup Winners.
So, yeah, I just want a good final. Tiki-taka vs. long/aerial ball. It’ll be interesting. And (with Hope) the attention carries over to WPS adding back teams (cuz damn I’m tired of watching the same 6 teams) and ESPN/FSC carrying women’s friendlies more often.
34.
dollared
@Paula (Paulinha?)
Agreed. The perfect result Sunday would be a replay of the France match, with the technical gap being very visible and the US still scratching out a gutty win. I can regrow my fingernails after the tournament is over.
And we won’t have Wombach forever. With our deep talent pool and comparatively generous resources, we should be able to play both English and Spanish football.
35.
cmorenc
So the smurfs beat the Vikings. Very nicely skilled smurfs, playing an elfin version of Barcelona-style football.
Ok, I just saw the Japan goals. I’m a lot less afraid.
If Sweden were Colombia, the goalie would be dead outside a Medellin nightclub in a matter of weeks.
38.
Paula
Ooooh, I have been gifted a soccer name!
ESPN has been airing that Escobar documentary often. TOO SOON DOLLARED.
Seriously, I have trouble gauging the quality of gks in the women’s game compared to the men’s. I mean, it seems like they are adequate for the average (non BRA, GER, USA) team, but Hope Solo is in a class of her own.
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Tuttle
I’m rooting for the onna bugeisha to whip up on the valkyries.
And the Swedes score as I type that … of course.
aretino
And Japan equalize! And that was a brave finish with the diving header!
Bill Murray
One question is this an open thread or a soccer-only thread? Randinho, I might suggest not calling it an open thread if you don’t want non-soccer talk
Tuttle
Woot!
You can always tell when someone is going to score on ESPN3… the picture freezes a few seconds beforehand. It’s psychic TV!
aretino
Well, from the replay I see there was a fortunate deflection off a defender for Japan’s equalizer. But it counts all the same.
Hawes
Not sure who I’d like to see in the Finals. Wambach could score three goals against the tiny Japanese team, but then again there might not be three crosses to her the way they control the ball.
Felanius Kootea
I still can’t believe the US beat France! Gravlax and sashimi are tied right now but I think it might be gravlax; we’ll see.
On a completely unrelated note: the New Yorker examines the NY Post’s assertion that DSK’s accuser is a prostitute. Not surprisingly, give that the Post is a Murdoch rag, the piece includes this:
Hawes
I’m thinking for the Finals a nice udon soup with some tempura on the side.
Hawes
Lindhahl scares me.
iriedc
@Hawes
Yummm… I’m with you.
handsmile
As I was expecting foie gras rather than freedom fries from this morning’ s match, I fear that my appetite for gravlax will be unfulfilled as well.
With either result, it will be surf against the US turf on Sunday’s menu.
Sweden was my pre-tournament favorite, a choice always of sentiment rather than sense.
Cursedly, I have only been able to watch the opening minutes live; the rest on tape tonight.
Hawes
Japan reminds me of France earlier. Tremendous midfield possession, but can’t close.
parenthetical
It’s gonna be good, old-fashioned American cheeseburgers.
Hawes
Ironically, you can’t get good hamburgers in Germany.
Morbo
Schelin and Oqvist are my favorite strikers, admittedly not entirely due to skills which they have aplenty.
aretino
I will admit that such considerations are not entirely irrelevant to my own enthusiasm for French striker Elodie Thomis.
aretino
Lordy, what a howler from the Sweden goalkeeper Lindahl. And Japan take the lead.
justawriter
Start warming and chilling the sake, methinks
Morbo
Copy and paste for goal #3.
lostinube
Yowza. 3 – 1 Japan!
edmund dantes
Swedish goalie is just horrible. All over the place.
Tuttle
Natto nattoku!
I mean, if we’re doing national food puns…
edmund dantes
Japan is a scary team to face if this continues considering the U.S.’s problem with midfield possession. I could see the U.S. being run ragged by the Japanese just possessing the ball all over the place.
SRW1
Hawes
Bratwurst country!!
J. Michael Neal
This Japanese team is fun to watch. To a hockey devotee and soccer beginner, they remind me a lot of the Detroit Red Wings: they want the ball, and if there isn’t anyone forward to pass the ball to, they’re perfectly happy to pass it backwards.
Unless they blow the lead, the final is a no lose proposition for me. Either the US wins, or this team I like so much wins.
burnspbesq
Getting to the semis, and beating the US in the group stage, is a beyond-expectations result for Sweden.
J. Michael Neal
burnspbesq: Yeah, but not as much of a beyond expectations result as the Japanese making the final. I really thought that they had played the game of their lives against Germany and couldn’t do it again.
This is an indication of how much I actually know about soccer.
J. Michael Neal
I thought the story of both games was really bad goalkeeping on the losing side.
lostinube
Not that most of the world cares but we were denied a double US-Japan final today:
A late touchdown took Canada past Japan to win their group and the right to take on the US in the finals of the World Cup of American Football taking place in Austria.
It’s the first time Japan is not in the finals.
dollared
If Japan is as good with ball control as France was, look out. US was lucky today.
I’m wondering about Coach Pia. The US team is big and clumsy – bad touches and errant passes abound. They looked today like Man U. against Barcelona, all long kicks and falling back into the box, while France had better one-on-one ball skills, better passing, and overall better team speed. The gap in touch and passing was obvious and alarming.
I’m assuming playing this style is coach Pia’s decision. But is it a choice, or is it that the US doesn’t have the players with the speed and touch to compete at this level and playing English/Italian ball is the only choice?
burnspbesq
@dollared:
We have plenty of speed on the flanks and in central defense. The biggest weakness of this team is the central midfield .
More to the point, we have a Wombat and nobody else does. Why not build your attack around the threat for which nobody has an answer?
Jogo bonito is nice, but they don’t count style points.
dollared
I get the Wombach part. But does her looming presence cause us to select halfbacks who can’t trap properly and can’t pass accurately? Or are they just not available?
Paula
Yes, we rely too much on physicality and grit to win, rather than on technical ability.
(Wambach’s headers have been class, though. They may have been poor marking, but weren’t egregious goalkeeping errors.)
The USWNT have every advantage over almost all the teams in the WWC, so if they lose on Sunday they deserve to lose, after which might come the serious introspection on USSF’s part to improve technical training at all levels for both the men and women. (Might — not holding my breath.)
OTOH, that’s mostly a personal gripe. I have no desire to rain down on the thousands of people who want USWNT to hold the Cup again, or the new generation of young girls who may be inspired by another generation of US World Cup Winners.
So, yeah, I just want a good final. Tiki-taka vs. long/aerial ball. It’ll be interesting. And (with Hope) the attention carries over to WPS adding back teams (cuz damn I’m tired of watching the same 6 teams) and ESPN/FSC carrying women’s friendlies more often.
dollared
@Paula (Paulinha?)
Agreed. The perfect result Sunday would be a replay of the France match, with the technical gap being very visible and the US still scratching out a gutty win. I can regrow my fingernails after the tournament is over.
And we won’t have Wombach forever. With our deep talent pool and comparatively generous resources, we should be able to play both English and Spanish football.
cmorenc
So the smurfs beat the Vikings. Very nicely skilled smurfs, playing an elfin version of Barcelona-style football.
Randinho
Hawes:
Give me a Frikadelle any day in lieu of a burger.
Dollared
Ok, I just saw the Japan goals. I’m a lot less afraid.
If Sweden were Colombia, the goalie would be dead outside a Medellin nightclub in a matter of weeks.
Paula
Ooooh, I have been gifted a soccer name!
ESPN has been airing that Escobar documentary often. TOO SOON DOLLARED.
Seriously, I have trouble gauging the quality of gks in the women’s game compared to the men’s. I mean, it seems like they are adequate for the average (non BRA, GER, USA) team, but Hope Solo is in a class of her own.